Though the bosses were on the third floor, the commotion downstairs was significant enough that it was unlikely they hadn’t heard it. Even if they hadn’t, their people on the first floor would have informed them immediately with a message. With such an incident happening on the shop’s opening day, regardless of whether the bosses wanted to watch the show, they would, on the surface, have to appear sensible and leave.
When Chen Jian returned downstairs, seething with frustration, he saw the bosses talking to Hu Pan, seemingly preparing to leave.
“Manager,” Hu Pan looked at him, “The bosses…”
Under normal circumstances, Chen Jian would have asked what was wrong with the bosses, then feigned an attempt to persuade them to stay, and finally offered a polite apology when they insisted on leaving. But today’s events were truly infuriating, and he had just been kicked out of the office by Shan Yu. He was in no mood for acting.
So, he skipped all the middle parts and went straight to the conclusion: “Thank you very much for your support today, bosses. Please forgive our poor hospitality.”
“No worries, no worries,” He Liang said. “All the hard parts are over, it’ll be smooth sailing from now on. Wishing Da Yin a grand opening!”
“You’re the one who has all the hard parts ahead of you.”
“You’re the one with the hard parts.”
“Your entire shop is full of hard parts.”
“Someone with trypophobia would go crazy on the spot.”
Chen Jian looked at him: “Thank you, it will be a grand opening.”
After seeing the bosses and their employees out of the courtyard, Chen Jian turned and went back inside. Their people were all sitting in the restaurant.
Zhao Fangfang had taken the first aid kit and was disinfecting the wound on Chen Erhu’s eye. Not only his right eye, but the entire right side of Chen Erhu’s face was swollen, with his eye reduced to a mere slit, seemingly narrower than the cut on his eyelid.
“How is it?” Chen Jian walked into the restaurant and asked.
“Can’t you see?” Chen Erhu said grumpily.
Chen Jian’s anger instantly flared. He picked up a teacup from the table and threw it at Chen Erhu’s forehead: “Why are you being insolent with me! Is this my fault, damn it!”
The teacup bounced off Chen Erhu’s forehead. This time, no one caught it, and the teacup shattered on the floor.
“Manager, manager…” Sanbing quickly stepped in to block him. “No, no, no, no…”
“Oh, broken means peace, broken means peace!” Hu Pan clapped her hands and shouted, interrupting the potential continuation of the argument. “Peace—good luck—a roaring start—”
“Where’s the roaring start?” Lao Si asked.
“Boss Chen’s face is a roaring start—any red counts as a roaring start—” Hu Pan continued shouting. “Alright now—good luck—no more arguing—”
“Stop shouting!” Chen Erhu glared at her. “My head already hurts.”
“I looked, there are painkillers in the medicine box, take one,” Hu Pan brought a broom and swept up the broken glass on the floor.
Chen Jian sat down at the dining table.
“How’s Boss Shan?” Sanbing sat next to Chen Jian.
“He’s angry, what else can he be? He’s probably pissed to death.”
“He’s fine,” Chen Jian said. “Resting in the office.”
“This mess today…” Sanbing frowned. “What about the afternoon? Are we still eating? Or…”
“Eat, it doesn’t affect anything,” Chen Jian said. “Our plan today was to set off firecrackers, then have a gathering among ourselves at noon, and invite some acquaintances in the evening. There’s no difference now.”
“Mm, no difference,” Sanbing nodded.
“Chen Jian,” Chen Erhu’s face wound had been bandaged by Zhao Fangfang. He stood up. “Can we talk alone?”
Chen Jian didn’t speak. He got up and walked with him through the restaurant, out the back door, and sat down at a small table in the backyard.
Chen Erhu lit a cigarette and sat on the swing next to him, spacing out for a long time.
Chen Jian didn’t urge him to speak. To be honest, he didn’t want to talk either. His mind was filled with Shan Yu’s “Get out.”
“After what happened with my brother today, we’re completely estranged,” Chen Erhu said.
Chen Jian glanced at him: “He’s been beating you since you were little, always beating you to death. It took until today for you to think of estrangement? If Shan Yu hadn’t knocked him out, you wouldn’t even be estranged, you’d be saying your final goodbyes.”
“Damn you, Chen Jian, can you talk properly!” Chen Erhu turned his head and glared at him with one eye, cursing, “If I wasn’t in the wrong today, I’d hit you right now.”
“Did you call Chen Dahu?” Chen Jian asked.
“How could I! Damn, how could I!” Chen Erhu raised his voice, his neck, still red from being choked, turned even redder.
“Then what are you in the wrong about?” Chen Jian said.
“…So you just want to fight, right?” Chen Erhu looked at him.
“You can’t beat me anyway,” Chen Jian said.
“Damn, can’t talk to you,” Chen Erhu threw the cigarette on the ground, turned and walked back.
Chen Jian sighed: “Boss Chen, what do you want to talk about? Let’s talk.”
Chen Erhu stood still for almost half a minute before walking back again.
“Throw the cigarette butt in the trash can,” Chen Jian said. “Sanbing and the others swept for so long yesterday, keep it clean.”
Chen Erhu picked up the cigarette butt and put it back in his mouth: “In a bit, there’s still half of it… You’re really quite a manager…”
“Not very qualified,” Chen Jian said.
“You can’t say that, you are qualified,” Chen Erhu said. “Even though we have our differences, I still approve of you on this matter.”
Chen Jian smiled.
“Let me ask you,” Chen Erhu swayed a few times on the swing and then stopped, leaning closer to Chen Jian. “Shan Yu, Boss Shan, really… went to jail?”
“Ask him,” Chen Jian said.
“Do I dare!” Chen Erhu glared at him.
“Do I dare?” Chen Jian sighed.
“…Damn,” Chen Erhu thought for a while. “I think it’s true, he really seems like it. He hits so hard. I never thought my brother would faint so cleanly. He must have gone in for intentional injury, right? Not murder?”
Actually, no, not even close. You wouldn’t have guessed.
“Does your court only sentence three years for murder?” Chen Jian said.
“Do you think… Da Yin can keep going?” Chen Erhu looked at him. “I really can only stay here now. If I leave here, Chen Dahu will beat me to death immediately.”
Chen Jian didn’t speak.
“Also, let me tell you,” Chen Erhu exhaled a puff of smoke. “That 100,000 share thing, who knows what that’s about. My brother can’t possibly have that much money. If you said 10,000, he might be able to get it by beating up our dad, but 100,000 is absolutely impossible.”
Chen Jian glanced at him.
“You should tell Shan Yu about this situation,” Chen Erhu said.
“Do I need to say it? Your brother doesn’t look like he has 100,000 either.”
“Why don’t you say it yourself?” Chen Jian asked.
“I have no face to see Shan Yu right now. No matter what, he’s my own brother, and he made such a mess on this day,” Chen Erhu stood up, walked to the trash can nearby, put out his cigarette, and threw it in, then slowly walked back into the restaurant.
Chen Jian didn’t move, remaining seated at the table.
The courtyard was completed and tidied up yesterday. He had checked every detail, making sure everything was in place and stable, but he hadn’t really sat down to appreciate it like this before.
It was only now, leaning back in his chair, slowly looking from near to far, that he realized it was truly beautiful, very comfortable. Sitting here, chatting, having a drink and some food, was very pleasant.
He sighed softly.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He waited a moment before taking it out to look and answered the call.
“Xiao Chen,” it was Old Zhang on the other end. The dinner gathering that evening was at the guesthouse, and fearing that Zhao Fangfang alone couldn’t handle all the cooking, he had ordered dishes from Old Zhang’s farmhouse restaurant. “I’ve picked out the fish for you. The chicken is two ways, right?”
“That’s right,” Chen Jian said.
“I should have them ready by around 3 or 4 PM. You’ll have to come pick them up then,” Old Zhang said. “I won’t have time to deliver them to you.”
“I’ll pick them up. Thank you, Boss Zhang,” Chen Jian said.
After hanging up, he stared at his phone. The final number of people for dinner hadn’t been confirmed yet. Besides their own staff, there were also friends or family brought by those staff members, and Shan Yu hadn’t confirmed if he wanted to invite anyone else.
Should he call Shan Yu and ask?
Or go to the office and ask him?
Chen Jian was a bit undecided.
He hesitated for a long while before deciding to go to the office. Although Shan Yu’s angry demeanor earlier made him a bit intimidated, it was precisely in such moments that he wanted to see the other person’s expression and feel their gaze. Otherwise, he would feel even more uncertain.
Shan Yu sat behind the desk, leaning back in his chair, his legs propped on the table. This was the most comfortable position for his legs, which were now aching and swollen, likely from the strain earlier. The Coke was finished, but he still felt thirsty. He wanted another can but didn’t want to move.
After a long pause, he reached for his phone on the desk, opened his contacts, and looked at them.
There were only three numbers saved. The first was Chen Jian’s, the second was Liu Wu’s.
He dialed Yue Lang’s number, the last one.
The phone rang for only a second before it was answered: “Hey.”
“Waiting for my call? You answered so fast,” Shan Yu said.
“Playing a game,” Yue Lang said, then paused. “Shan Yu?”
“Mm,” Shan Yu responded.
“Damn, I thought you were dead,” Yue Lang said. “Where are you?”
“Waiting to cross the Bridge of Helplessness,” Shan Yu said.
“Hold on, I’ll switch rooms, I’m at my mom’s,” Yue Lang’s background noise was a bit loud. After a few seconds, it quieted down. “What’s up?”
“I need to find Qian Yu,” Shan Yu said. “As soon as possible. Do you have any news of him?”
“I’ll have to inquire. No one has seen him since he came back,” Yue Lang asked. “I heard from his people that the guesthouse procedures are all done. Didn’t you clarify that?”
Shan Yu pinched his fingers: “The procedures are fine. This guesthouse is mine now. I have something else to find him about.”
A knock sounded on the office door.
Three knocks.
This was Chen Jian’s habit. Normally, no one else would come.
“Come in,” Shan Yu responded from inside.
Chen Jian pushed open the office door: “I…” As Shan Yu turned his head, he saw Shan Yu was on the phone and quickly retreated. “I’ll come back later.”
Shan Yu pointed to the sofa.
Chen Jian stopped, hesitated, walked into the office, closed the door, and sat on the sofa.
“He shouldn’t think that by transferring the guesthouse to me, the debt is settled. I agreed to take it because I was tired of hearing him complain about being broke,” Shan Yu said. “He was given a chance but didn’t take it, leaving me with a bunch of messes. He can’t escape…”
Chen Jian looked at the empty Coke can on the coffee table, feeling a bit awkward. Although Shan Yu clearly didn’t mind him hearing the phone conversation, the matter had nothing to do with him, and he somehow felt a guilty sense of eavesdropping.
“He’d better contact me himself, and definitely not wait for me to find him,” Shan Yu’s tone was very light. “When I find him, I can’t guarantee he’ll be able to walk out of the hospital on his own. I don’t care if I find him with one leg or half an arm… What’s up?”
Chen Jian was stunned for several seconds before he suddenly realized, looked up, and saw that Shan Yu had already hung up. This last sentence was addressed to him.
“Didn’t we order dishes from Boss Zhang for dinner?” Chen Jian stood up. “I wanted to ask if we’ve finalized our numbers, so he can see if the portion sizes are appropriate.”
“Get me a can of Coke,” Shan Yu said. “And a cup.”
Chen Jian walked to the mini-fridge, took out a can of Coke, and then took a cup from the shelf to examine it. It was a new cup brought up by Zhao Fangfang, very clean.
He placed the cup and Coke on the table: “I’ve already counted the number of staff here. It’s just you, do you have any more…”
“Invite Liu Wu over,” Shan Yu said.
“Huh?” Chen Jian was stunned.
“Besides inviting him, who else can I invite?” Shan Yu opened the Coke can and slowly poured it into the cup.
Chen Jian frowned: “If you don’t make it clear, what if something goes wrong again?”
Shan Yu looked up and glanced at him: “Quite a temper.”
“Who?”
“No,” Chen Jian said.
“Some things are just unfair like that,” Shan Yu said. “If Chen Dahu hadn’t come to cause trouble, and you hadn’t said anything, it would have been fine. But Chen Dahu came, and caused such a big commotion. What do you think my first reaction would be?”
Chen Jian didn’t speak.
“That you didn’t say anything,” Shan Yu looked at him.
“Mm,” Chen Jian responded.
“That’s it?” Shan Yu asked.
Chen Jian was silent for a while, looking at him: “That’s it.”
“Really, that’s it?” Shan Yu said. “If that’s really it, I’ll take it that you admit it.”
“Admit what?” Chen Jian couldn’t help but ask.
“Then speak,” Shan Yu said.
“Before you came, I was just doing odd jobs. Whatever came up, I did,” Chen Jian looked at him. “I don’t know what you care about, nor do I know what kind of so-called assistant or manager you want. You don’t say anything either. Many times, I have to overstep, make mistakes, just to find out…”
Chen Jian paused, suddenly realizing that what he was saying didn’t seem to have anything to do with the Chen Dahu incident itself.
He had gone off-topic.
“Mm?” Shan Yu responded.
“That’s it,” Chen Jian said. “This matter was my oversight.”
After circling back, he still admitted it.
Shan Yu leaned back in his chair and watched him for a while, not saying anything else. He handed over the half-filled Coke can: “Want some?”
“No,” Chen Jian said, but he still took the Coke.
“Didn’t I tell you to deal with your injury?” Shan Yu asked.
“Forgot,” Chen Jian said.
“How did you get injured?” Shan Yu asked.
“It wasn’t today’s injury,” Chen Jian said. “I got it yesterday when I was working on the flower stand in the courtyard, and it just opened up again today.”
“Is that so?” Shan Yu paused, slowly put his legs down from the table, stood up, took the cup, and gently touched it against the can in Chen Jian’s hand. “You’ve worked hard these past few days.”
Chen Jian didn’t speak, only feeling his eyes suddenly well up.
Damn.
What’s wrong with me?!
He quickly turned his head away.
It had indeed been hard work. Every day, he woke up to a pile of things to deal with: making phone calls, running to the old town, supervising workers, figuring out solutions for problems, and sometimes arguing with people. The boss couldn’t help much either. But it was nothing; he had worked harder before, and the bosses not only couldn’t help but paid less. This time, he didn’t know why, maybe because there was more money, or maybe because the boss was different from before, he particularly cared about his efforts.
It might also be because he had just been scolded by the boss…
Not really scolded.
But it felt worse than a scolding.
He was somewhat wronged. He didn’t care before, but now he did.
This “You’ve worked hard” came so suddenly, he had no defense, and his emotions suddenly became difficult to suppress.
“Mm?” Shan Yu took a sip of Coke, looking at the back of Chen Jian’s head. “What’s wrong?”
Chen Jian didn’t speak.
Shan Yu walked over, wanting to see his face. As he got closer, Chen Jian quickly turned his head away to the other side again.
But he was forced to stop halfway through the turn. Shan Yu’s hand reached around from the other side, his fingers pressing against Chen Jian’s face.
When he pushed Shan Yu’s hand away, Shan Yu saw his reddened eyes and paused: “Oh, damn.”
Chen Jian looked at him, not speaking.
“Crying?” Shan Yu asked.
“No,” Chen Jian still looked at him.
“Angry?” Shan Yu asked.
“I said no,” Chen Jian said.
“If it were Liu Wu, he’d have been crying like a faucet from anger long ago,” Shan Yu said.
“…I’m not Liu Wu,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu pulled out a tissue and handed it to him.
Chen Jian took it but didn’t use it. When Shan Yu looked at him again, he saw that Chen Jian was no longer in his previous state. His eyes were still slightly red, but his emotions were clearly suppressed.
Shan Yu sighed: “Alright then.”
“Then I’ll go downstairs,” Chen Jian said, turning to walk towards the door. After two steps, he stopped again. “Oh, there’s one more thing.”
“Speak,” Shan Yu leaned against the desk.
“Chen Erhu said Chen Dahu couldn’t possibly have 100,000,” Chen Jian turned around. Although he really wanted to leave the office quickly and find a deserted place to compose himself, he still had to mention Chen Erhu’s matter. “That 100,000 share was probably Qian Yu fooling him.”
“I can guess that,” Shan Yu said.
“It’s just this matter, he’s too embarrassed to tell you,” Chen Jian said. In the time it took for those two sentences, he had already returned to his normal state.
“Got it,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian turned and walked out of the office.
“Chen Jian,” Shan Yu thought for a moment and called out to him.
Chen Jian turned his head.
“This job, you’ll inevitably be wronged in the future,” Shan Yu said. “If you don’t want to put up with it, then don’t. If you truly feel I’m in the wrong, scold me if you want, argue if you want.”
“Who can out-scold you?” Chen Jian turned and quickly went down the stairs.
__
Author’s Note:
Chen Erhu: “If you can’t out-scold the boss, you can scold others, though ﹁_﹁.”
